HK: Worth a flutter?

Hong Kong is hoping to back an economic winner

Chinese New Year is as big a celebration here as Christmas is in the UK and they were celebrating the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit in style, writes Adam Shaw in Hong Kong.

The new year fireworks were so loud that the windows in my hotel room were shaking.

I have seen impressive firework displays before, but nothing quite like this. These weren't just exploding in a display of sparkle and colour, these fireworks were drawing smiley faces in the sky and outlining figures of 8, traditionally seen as a lucky number, above Hong Kong harbour.

This is the year 4709 in the Chinese calendar. It is the fourth year in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac and is represented by the rabbit.

Like the houses of the zodiac in Western astrology, the animals of Chinese astrology are thought by many to dictate personality traits or, in the wider scope of things, even affect world events.

Those born in the year of the rabbit are thought to be calm and gentle, but persistent.

Beating the odds?

If you are an investor or business person who was born in the Year of the Rabbit you are thought to be good at delicate business dealings and it is thought that you are best suited to navigating the year ahead.

I'm told that the zodiac predicts that the markets likely to slow down in the first half, then pick up in the second half from June 2011. Although even the zodiac predictions must come with the warning that markets can go up, down or no where at all.

Adam and man he met at race course showing the Chinese sign for good luck

Certainly my own personal experience of the year of the rabbit has been very good so far. One of the biggest events of the celebrations is the New Year horse race meeting. Having been wished good new year luck by the racecourse mascot,

I took a $100HK bet on a horse called I Smell Money. It came in first, having led the race almost all the way. I will now be bidding to provide Gary and Rob with all their race horse tips for the Today programme.

The rabbit is a very cautious animal. Every time it hops a bit, it turns around and checks out the environment - to see if it is safe before moving on. That's why some believe the market will move ahead in shot bunny hops.

As most of the professional market pundits failed to see the recent economic collapse, you may feel the Chinese zodiac is no less reliable than many of the other predictions we have had about the markets over the past few years.